Surprised to find Cpher’s concert online already….downloaded the video and you can watch it by clicking the link below.
We were surprised to see Cpher listed as the section leader for this concert. Turns out the designation is more of a random thing than anything else….Cpher was pretty clear “Dad, there are only two basses…it was my turn.”
I’m not going to reproduce the whole thing here….but there were a few things there that I wanted to talk about after I saw what was on display for him.
(it looks like most of the schools Kevin is now considering treat his AP credit about the same….Alabama gives him the most, Michigan the least, but, it’s close. The real difference is how each of them handle foreign language. All of the schools have a test, four of the schools let you place into a higher-level, and one of them, Alabama, lets you place into a higher-level AND get credit for the classes you placed out of. That might be four classes for Kevin. I guess the other thing to mention here is that the teacher of AP Stats at OHS is not very good….a lot of those comments were commenting on how the kids had to teach themselves)
(Didn’t mention it when it happened….Kevin fasted for 72 hours for no reason whatsoever other than to do it)
(a pretty good fall for the kid!)
Facebook says “Look back at your 20 biggest moments from the past year.” And you click on a link and the program thoughtfully provides what it thinks are your twenty top moments from 2013. I’m guessing it grabbed the posts that were the most commented/liked and put them in chronological order.
It took some doing (cutting and pasting. rinse. repeat) to get them from there to here…but figured it was worth it.
(strange that Facebook chose four lacrosse photos for the title photo spread….but, I think they are the only ones I’ve been tagged in this year)
(the only post that might need some explanation….Game 4 of the ALDS, Tigers and A’s, and I forget which Tigers pitcher…Fister maybe?…got into the jam, but, he had the bases loaded, nobody out, and the Tigers with a one-run lead….and got out of it)
I did this tour with Kevin….so maybe a little more detail on this summary than last time. I get ASU; Suzanne finishes off with the Northeastern/Oklahoma trip.
(ten Hoor Hall…..I don’t know why it is named that…and we weren’t in the building very long anyway)
1) In the end, what are the chances that Kevin goes here?
25%? Kevin says “I can see myself here” and after the visit pretty much said Kentucky was not an option anymore…he’s rather be here. Roll Tide!
2) What did Kevin think?
I think Kevin liked almost everything he was exposed to; this was the first of the more personalized tours. We met for an hour with the Honor College representative and then for an hour with the chair(!) of the political science department (international studies falls here at UA). Roll Tide!
3) Most impressive thing?
Wow…there were a lot of impressive things. I’ll go with the dorms; Kevin would be in the brand new Honors College dorm which would be a 4-person suite, each person with an individual bedroom, two shared bathrooms, one shared kitchen and commons space.
(Ridgecrest)
(Bathroom and Bedroom….really impressed by this suite!)
(
(closet and common space….)
(Kitchen…no stove though)
4) Least impressive thing?
Well, the music professor didn’t show up for our scheduled appointment with her. So, that was a downer. We’ll call this one even though since Kevin got this email earlier this week…
“Dear Kevin,
I'm the viola teacher at the University of Alabama. I'm so sorry that I will be gone for the holidays when you arrive tomorrow but I wanted to introduce myself. Mr. Adams speaks very highly of your application. Please let me know if you have any questions about the music program, orchestra, or the viola studio. We have a wonderful and very comprehensive music program for people wishing to major or double major in music, as well as minor or just participate as a non major. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have. I'm sorry that I won't have the chance to meet you tomorrow. Safe travels and I hope you have a great time on campus.
All the best,
Dan Sweaney”
This is the only piece of correspondence we’ve received from Alabama that didn’t include Roll Tide in the closing sentence!
5) Food?
Ate at Rama Jama’s…..the hamburger joint literally in the shadow of the football stadium. Had the “National Championship” burger….15 ounces of beef with so much sauce that the bun literally dissolved as I tried to work my way through it.
(They take their football pretty seriously down here!)
6) Biggest reason to go here?
Seems to have everything he wants…the Honors College is pretty impressive. Campus was new and updated on almost every level. The recreation center could be called opulent.
(I was joking with Kevin that we need to rethink his college choices after talking about some of the activities available here…..Intramural Battleship (where teams are in canoes in the indoor pool) and a freakin’ lazy river around the outdoor pool! Maybe The Citadel or VMI or something like that is more appropriate!)
7) Biggest reason not to go here?
A lot of smaller reasons; the Honors College, while impressive, is pretty large (6K of 30K students). 30% of the campus is Greek…which probably is not where Kevin will end up. Merit aid is not at the same level as some other schools.
8) What’s next?
Arizona State near the end of January.
9) Any Other Updates?
Accepted at Michigan on Friday.
Accepted at Arizona State on Saturday.
Alabama is definitely the best case in handling Kevin’s AP courses and foreign language experience….and that is something we will need to track through the other visits. Some schools (Penn State, for example) say we-don’t-care if you have AP English…you must must take Freshman English. Will have to be sure what ASU, NE, OK, and UM will do here. It may make a heck of a difference!
Alabama will let you place out of both semesters with a high enough score. Since Kevin, by the end of this year, will have 8 classes with potential AP credit; that’s almost a full year of college credit Kevin might have before he starts. Combine that with what language credit he may qualify for on their placement test (it seems like he’d hit both Beginner German classes and should get one of the Intermediate German classes, if not both). and that’s a lot of classes Kevin wouldn’t have to to take. So, with that extra time, Kevin could probably double major as long as the core requirements are relatively similar, like, for example, International Studies / Political Science.
Aside from the Dolphins beating the Steelers, making a perfectly good weekend go south (oh Antonio Brown, just a few more inches!), another event put the exclamation point on the weekend of football a week ago.
Suzanne won the weekly pot in ‘our’ football pool. Never mind the monetary goodness ($125)….it’s the bragging rights around the house that mean a whole lot more! Suzanne did so well that she wrapped this up Sunday night….Monday night’s game didn’t matter.
Grumble grumble grumble.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
I’m not one to take this kind of nonsense lying down. Head back to my laboratory…consult the oracles. And make my picks. Start off with the upset on Thursday night…ride those Chargers to a victory while everyone else in the pool loses major points on the Broncos. Do ok, not great, on Sunday…..there are a lot of upsets and I do about as well as anyone…I’m still in the hunt going into Sunday night.
I’m one of the few…I have the ‘Stillers’….and I have some pretty decent points on them. They win, and the path to the win (and redemption!) is clear….I’ve picked the Ravens…all of the other contenders for the weekly prize have the Lions. And the Lions do what the Lions are prone to doing….lose.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
Since I’m on a video-capturing kick…..there’s this one that one of the kids made for the tennis banquet. You can find it out on Youtube, but, I wanted to grab a copy just in case he decides to delete it at some point.
As always, click to watch.
I often get behind on things I want to document, or save, for future reference. One of those things that is very easy for me to get delayed on are orchestra recordings. Because a) often my recordings suck, especially the audio and b) it takes a while to get the district’s video/audio….if I can even get it at all!
But last night I did go out and grab the video from the last few concerts and convert what I wanted into sound files to dump into Itunes.
First up are two pieces from the Collage Concert last March. Only Kevin was in town; the rest of us were in Cincinnati for Matthew’s soccer tournament….and this concert is my favorite of the year so that was a bummer.
Click on any of the pictures below for the video….
(not sure what the name of this piece is…will have to ask him. I know he performed as part of the musical cast, but, this is the first of the Philharmonic performances….just the strings)
(and this piece closes the concert….the entire Philharmonic)
Next up is the Spring 2013 Kinawa Orchestra Concert. Made the decision long ago to not convert video from 5th or 6th grade into audio….too simplistic and while it’s ok to hear once, it isn’t something I want to have come up randomly as I’m listening
(Matthew is the 2nd bass from the right…we just attended the winter concert…I’d say only 50-60% of these 5th grade kids stuck with orchestra into this year; a lot of attrition to band.
I think there are 4 or 5 different pieces of music in this video clip)
(The 6th graders…..the video guy does not do right by the basses….you get closer views of the rest of the orchestra but this is about the best shot you get of the two in the back. Same deal here…about four or five different pieces in this one clip)
(The 7th graders from this Fall…dressed up for Halloween. Again, the videographer does Cpher no favors. Two pieces here, Gargoyle and Demon Dance)
(same concert…it’s worth listening to the introduction because this is the first year that the high school has had this group, a Chamber Orchestra. This piece is La Muerte de Angel by Piozzolla)
(Each section of the Phil dressed up as a theme….and I think the violas mailed it in. You would never be able to figure out what they are. I guess the picture above this one shows it best…the section leader is Pac-man…everybody else is a ghost. Lame. There are three pieces in this video clip, Dance of the Furies, Orion and the Scorpion, and the Allegro from Mendelsohn's String Symphony #9. Not a fan of the theatrics in the Mendelsohn…..not sure what they were going for here but it didn’t strike me as funny during the concert and it was a pain in the ass to edit it out for the audio file)
